Kayaker Discovers New Species of Shark in Puget Sound -- SEATTLE, April 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Kayaker Discovers New Species of Shark in Puget Sound
Christened the "Pacific Redfin," the Animal Has Been Adopted by Real Estate Broker Redfin as the Company's Official Mascot

The Epalzeorhynchos ruber, or Redfin Shark, was discovered on March 28 outside of Seattle, WA. Redfin, a tech-powered real estate brokerage, adopted the shark as the company mascot. (April Fool's). (PRNewsFoto/Redfin Corporation) Facebook Twitter Pinterest

The Epalzeorhynchos ruber, or Redfin Shark, was discovered on March 28 outside of Seattle, WA. Redfin, a tech-powered real estate brokerage, adopted the shark as the company mascot. (April Fool's). (PRNewsFoto/Redfin Corporation)

SEATTLE, April 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by Redfin Corporation and is an acknowledged spoof release. The following news is not factual and should not be reported on as such.

Redfin, a technology-powered real estate brokerage, today announced it has adopted a newly discovered species of shark - the Pacific Redfin Shark - as its new mascot. On March 28 Tom Vogl, a Redfin employee, discovered the shark while fishing in the Puget Sound.

"I wanted to take advantage of some of the sunshine we've been getting so I decided to take my kayak out on the sound. About a mile off of Bainbridge Island I saw a red fin bobbing above the water. It didn't look like anything I had ever seen before, so I immediately snapped some photos. To my surprise, the shark actually followed me home," Vogl said.

Area biologists studied the shark and determined that it was a previously unidentified species, which they named Epalzeorhynchos ruber, or Redfin Shark. The shark is roughly ten feet long and features a bright red dorsal fin and an elongated, dark-black and greenish body. It is thought to have evolved from Epalzeorhynchos frenatus, known as the Rainbow Shark, which is much smaller in size.

"We were so excited to hear one of our employees discovered a new species, and just couldn't believe our luck when it turned out to have Redfin in the name," said Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin.

Redfin plans to feature the Redfin Shark in a national multi-media campaign, which will include television advertisements, branding, and appearances. Redfin is also planning to sponsor at least three days of Shark Week 2013, with the Pacific Redfin as the star. The shark is currently residing in Vogl's large salt water pool, where it is available for viewing.

"The shark, who we've been calling Finny, is helping us leave Tour Insights on Redfin.com," said Vogl. "It turns out he has quite the discerning eye when it comes to pools."

About RedfinRedfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate broker that represents people buying and selling homes. Founded and run by technologists, Redfin has a team of experienced, full-service real estate agents who are advocates, not sales-people, earning customer-satisfaction bonuses, not commissions. Redfin's online tools feature all the broker-listed homes for sale, as well as for-sale-by-owner properties that don't pay brokers a commission. The company serves 21 U.S. markets and has closed more than $8 billion in home sales. In 2012, Redfin was named one of The DIGITAL 100: World's Most Valuable Private Tech Companies by Business Insider. Follow us on our blog (blog.redfin.com), Twitter (@redfin), and Facebook (facebook.com/redfin), Redfin Collections (www.redfin.com/collections), and on our mobile apps (www.redfin.com/mobile).